Dungeons & Dragons just celebrated its 42nd birthday—an auspicious number, to be sure—some 16 months after the release of its 5th edition. Since D&D’s latest release in August of 2014, many players and Dungeon Masters have rolled their polyhedrals in approval, and publisher Wizards of the Coast has grown its support for the world’s most popular role-playing game in ways you might not have expected.

No matter your edition or specific RPG of choice, today D&D continues to be the measuring stick by which other pen-and-paper games are judged, be it on sales, popularity, or even complexity. For many gamers over the course of the game's existence, D&D has been the entry point into role-playing which sparks a lifetime of storytelling and adventure.

So, with more than a year behind it, how does the newest edition of D&D hold up for newbies and hardcore fans alike?

The story thus far

D&D’s 5th edition (5E), which was first previewed under the moniker of “D&D Next” as part of a public playtest with 175,000 registered players, forges a new direction in order to differentiate itself from D&D 3/3.5 and 4th editions. The new edition eschews the complexity of 3/3.5 in favor of streamlining rules, and it removes cumbersome modifiers that slowed the game to a crawl. Where 4E created a highly-balanced but homogenized and codified set of powers for each class, 5E returns to more differentiated classes with their own sense of purpose and feel.

In some ways, the new edition returns to the concept of the Dungeon Master (DM) as active storyteller. Previous editions had moved D&D towards a tactical combat system that prized structure and complexity with "story" becoming the thing that simply happened in the moments between multi-hour combats.

Mechanically, the largest change here is the removal of the modifiers found in previous editions. They are now few and far between, distilled down into "advantage" and "disadvantage." Attacking from above with the cover of darkness—but also from behind? Your character has advantage. Trying to track a hooked horror without a light source—and in the rain? Make a check with disadvantage. The DM, without having to consult a chart, can easily define the circumstances of an attack, skill test, or ad hoc maneuver from the player. Having advantage confers the ability to roll two d20s during your check and keeping the highest result; disadvantage requires keeping the lowest result. It’s a simple enough change on the surface that makes all the difference in the world during play.

Classes again feature unique components and, early in your career at 3rd level, you will start to fork in different directions as part of an archetype. No longer do you need to map out your character from 1st to 10th level to prepare for your paragon path out of fear of inadvertently gimping your character. (Although, perhaps alarmingly, the first hints at prestige classes returning to D&D have already been dropped.)

Tactical combat has been toned down considerably. The rigid structure of previous editions has given way to the abstraction of the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons of yesteryear, making D&D once again a game that takes place in the theater of the mind. If you want to move miniatures on a map and stack condition tokens, you can. But the game no longer requires it.

Further, as a nod to those craving more mechanical rewards for role-playing, D&D now includes "inspiration," which is the ability to gain advantage on any one ability check, saving throw, or attack roll via role-playing to a character’s background. It’s a small thing and there’s no worry of confusing D&D with a game of Fate, but it's a welcome nod from a game that historically has focused on killing creatures and taking their stuff.

Created by Wizards, told by you

Alongside the release of the three 5th edition core books came the first D&D campaign storyline, Tyranny of Dragons. A two-book adventure spanning Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat, players were embroiled in a story that stretched from the start of their adventuring careers all the way through the 15th level. At the culmination of the story, Wizards then introduced its next epic plot, "Elemental Evil" (yes, The Temple of Elemental Evil returns!) with Princes of the Apocalypse in April 2015. Again, this self-contained campaign spanned an entire character’s career.

The approach has marked a shift in how Wizards of the Coast and its D&D Team design stories and play aides. Instead of making adventure modules meant to squeeze into your home campaign, Wizards now provides the entire campaign in one book filled with great set pieces, plot hooks, and epic adventure.

The third and current storyline, "Rage of Demons," was released in September in Out of the Abyss, following this same structure. Adventurers can start fresh or jump right in with a character from their weekly D&D Encounters session.

Encounters? Yes, Wizards of the Coast kept the D&D Adventurers League from years past and has expanded it even further. Now the D&D Adventurers League—found every Wednesday night at your friendly local gaming store (FLGS)—maps to the current D&D storyline. Swing by your FLGS with a new character and you’ll be playing alongside the Rage of Demons storyline with 2-6 other players. Meant to be digestible in two-hour increments, the League program is the vehicle that Wizards uses to make sure you always have a D&D group ready to go by shadowing the current story “season” with casual play. You can even bring your pre-generated character from the D&D Starter Set and continue the adventure, accruing experience points in League play.

In editions past, the thought of going from 1st to 15th level (or higher) might have seemed a pipe dream, but 5E moves story, combat, and character advancement along much more quickly. Those abilities and spells you longingly looked forward to but never saw? In 5E and campaign progressions, the D&D Team wants you to see those cool levels. Your character’s growth as an epic hero is also part of the story and why each storyline begins anew. The hero’s journey is a fundamental component of the latest edition.